The news is that the economies of the Western world are collapsing. Greece, Ireland, France…now Great Britain is in turmoil. Rioting, conflict and unrest are spreading as governments run out of money to dole out. Pundits say that America is the next Greece. It is true that Communist China owns much of our debt, and the latest rumor is that the Chinese government is about to have a stake in General Motors!

We have been on this trajectory for some time now, and it will probably take longer to play out, but the free world (so-called) is in trouble. Is a totalitarian regime inevitable? Is brute force on an unprecedented scale—-with stacked bodies and blood running in the streets—-the only way to rein in the rioters?

Scary times. But, we can’t say we haven’t been warned. My thoughts have been going back to Revelation, chapter eighteen. Some say it is a picture of a literal Babylon. Others believe that it happened centuries ago. Still others think it is a prophetic picture of the world economy in the end times. Whatever, it is still unsettling to me to read it. Here is the passage from the Message Bible. Read it and pray for God’s help.

Revelation 18:1-24 (MSG) 1 Following this I saw another Angel descend from Heaven. His authority was immense, his glory flooded earth with brightness, 2 his voice thunderous: Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon, ruined! A ghost town for demons is all that’s left! A garrison of carrion spirits, garrison of loathsome, carrion birds. 3 All nations drank the wild wine of her whoring; kings of the earth went whoring with her; entrepreneurs made millions exploiting her. 4 Just then I heard another shout out of Heaven: Get out, my people, as fast as you can, so you don’t get mixed up in her sins, so you don’t get caught in her doom. 5 Her sins stink to high Heaven; God has remembered every evil she’s done. 6 Give her back what she’s given, double what she’s doubled in her works, double the recipe in the cup she mixed; 7 Bring her flaunting and wild ways to torment and tears. Because she gloated, “I’m queen over all, and no widow, never a tear on my face,” 8 In one day, disasters will crush her— death, heartbreak, and famine— Then she’ll be burned by fire, because God, the Strong God who judges her, has had enough. 9 “The kings of the earth will see the smoke of her burning, and they’ll cry and carry on, the kings who went night after night to her brothel. 10 They’ll keep their distance for fear they’ll get burned, and they’ll cry their lament: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! City of Babylon, strong city! In one hour it’s over, your judgment come! 11 “The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: 12 gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives. 14 Everything you’ve lived for, gone! All delicate and delectable luxury, lost! Not a scrap, not a thread to be found! 15 “The traders who made millions off her kept their distance for fear of getting burned, and cried and carried on all the more: 16 Doom, doom, the great city doomed! Dressed in the latest fashions, adorned with the finest jewels, 17 in one hour such wealth wiped out! “All the ship captains and travelers by sea, sailors and toilers of the sea, stood off at a distance 18 and cried their lament when they saw the smoke from her burning: ‘Oh, what a city! There was never a city like her!’ 19 They threw dust on their heads and cried as if the world had come to an end: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! All who owned ships or did business by sea Got rich on her getting and spending. And now it’s over—wiped out in one hour! 20 “O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged.” 21 A strong Angel reached for a boulder—huge, like a millstone—and heaved it into the sea, saying, Heaved and sunk, the great city Babylon, sunk in the sea, not a sign of her ever again. 22 Silent the music of harpists and singers— you’ll never hear flutes and trumpets again. Artisans of every kind—gone; you’ll never see their likes again. The voice of a millstone grinding falls dumb; you’ll never hear that sound again. 23 The light from lamps, never again; never again laughter of bride and groom. Her traders robbed the whole earth blind, and by black-magic arts deceived the nations. 24 The only thing left of Babylon is blood— the blood of saints and prophets, the murdered and the martyred.

Reader Comments (1)

Our economy will inevitably collapse if we don't rein in our massive debt. The GOP says we need tax cuts -- but unless they are completely offset with massive spending cuts, those tax cuts will just balloon the deficits and add $750 billion more to the debt. The keynesians think government spending more to "pump up the economy" will speed our recovery and get us back to the growth we had during the Reagan and Clinton years.

What they are both ignoring is the MASSIVE problem which neither tax cuts nor "stimulus" spending will solve, and that is the national debt. The Debt Commission just gave us a serious plan for addressing our massive debt, but who thinks anything strong like that will actually pass Congress and be signed into law? Liberals will hate it because of the cuts in benefits (raising the retirement age, means testing), and at least one prominent tax radical on the right, Grover Nordquist, has already dismissed as a stealth tax increase.

The truth is, we cannot continue using credit and assume we can pay it off later with projected growth. This is a sure way to a one-world government, because we truly live in a global economy, and it's folly to think our actions and our fiscal policy won't affect the stability of other nations; thus, we will either trigger a bloody conflict as nations retaliate, or we will stave off such a bloody conflict by essentially merging our governments.

The problem with that is we are spiritually not ready for one world governance. As long as there is economic inequality, where we have the rich man in Luke 16, and poor Lazarus at his gate, there is injustice and greed and "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" -- this means high in the halls of government, there will likewise be graft and corruption, and this breeds violence.

The remedy is keeping the commandments of Jesus! Until we love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and love each human we contact the same as our own soul, thus fulfilling the entire Law and the Prophets, there is room in our own hearts for greed, hatred, murder, and all manner of sins that will be born into the world: "for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."